Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Raises Stock Holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Free Report) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,023 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,135 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 80.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Colgate-Palmolive Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Colgate-Palmolive stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.49. The stock had a trading volume of 7,029,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,591,385. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 1 year low of $85.32 and a 1 year high of $109.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.48.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Colgate-Palmolive's payout ratio is presently 59.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $95.00 to $93.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Colgate-Palmolive from $108.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.17.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.